Alex Russo and The Goblet of Fire
by dreamanddiscover
Summary: Alex schemes her way into joining WizTech at Hogwarts for the Tri-Wizard Tournament. What she's looking for is fame and glory - But what she gets is an experience that will change her life forever. Friends are made, hearts are broken, and a war begins.
1. Chapter 1

**Helllloo. This is a new story that I've been working on. My love of Harry apparently has no bounds... Haha. Read if you'd like and review if you feel up to it ;)**

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><p>"Mom, Dad, guess what?" Exclaimed an exuberant Justin as he made his way through the front door.<p>

"What is it, hunny?" Teresa asked absentmindedly, her head still buried in the cook book that was on the counter.

Alex snorted from the couch, plopping her magazine down onto the coffee table. "What is it this time? Dean's list again? After getting it every single semester, Justin, the novelty kind of wears off."

Teresa finally looked up, glaring at her daughter. "Not to me, Justin. I'm very proud of you for getting Dean's list again!"

"What? No! The semester didn't even end yet, it's only -" He sighed. "Forget it. I was going to tell you that Professor Crumbs came by, and-"

"I didn't do it!" Alex yelled, standing up immediately. "Whatever he told you, I swear I had no part in it."

"Will you shut up!" Justin said, exasperated. "This wasn't about _you, _Alex. Although I am curious to know what's got you so nervous."

She bit her lip, looking back and fourth between her mother's cocked eyebrow and Justin's smirk. She let out a nervous giggle. "Psh, what? I'm not nervous." She sat back down onto the couch and looked over at her brother. "Justin, wasn't there something you wanted to tell us?"

He rolled his eyes, but Alex knew she had him. He was too excited about whatever news he just got to let one of Alex's pranks get in the way. "Professor Crumbs just came by to inform me that I'm one of the lucky WizTech students to be chosen to participate in this years Tri-Wizard tournament!"

"What!" Jerry exclaimed, rushing over to his eldest son with a huge smile. "Son, that's incredible! I always dreamed about becoming champion - All the money and the glory.." He trailed off, his mind wandering.

"Money? Glory?" Alex had finally snapped into the conversation. "What is this competition?"

Justin, grinning, started to explain. "Different wizarding schools from all over the world compete in it. Well, one student from each school does. The student gets picked from the Goblet of Fire -"

"The Goblet of _what?_" Alex asked, eyebrows raised and her lip quivering. It was all she could do not to laugh.

Justin's grin faded. "The Goblet of Fire is a tradition, Alex. It's enchanted to pick only the best."

"Well, we know you won't be competing then." She laughed at her own joke, no one joining in.

"Alex, this is a really big deal for your brother." Jerry explained, "It's not all the time WizTech gets to be involved. Or anyone in our family."

"Yeah, and if the Goblet picks me, think of how much experience this will give me for when I have to compete in our wizard competition. I'll have it in the bag." He smirked.

"Hey!" Alex shouted. "This is unfair, why don't I get a shot?"

Justin laughed. "You?"

"Well, sweetie," Jerry said, obviously trying to find the right words to coax his daughter. "You're, uh, not old enough yet."

"Or skilled enough, or smart enough -"

"I am too!" Alex yelled, cutting off Justin.

"Alex, please," Teresa said, stepping in. "I want to know more about this Tri-Wizard thing. Is it dangerous?" She asked, concern masking her face.

Jerry waved his hand dismissively, "He'll be fine! We don't have to look at all the facts or anything."

Teresa raised her eyebrows. "If my son is about to sign up for his death sentence, then I am not allowing this to happen!"

"Mom, I'll be fine, I promise." Justin said assuringly. "Listen, this year the Tournament is being held at Hogwarts. It's known for being a safe haven. So, if I get you and Dad's permission, I'll be able to go with the other WizTech students who were chosen."

"Hogwarts?" Jerry asked, "That's all the way in Ireland, isn't it? Or was it England? Maybe Scotland.."

Justin sighed. "Hogwarts location is secret, Dad. But, I mean, yeah, it's guessed to be in one of those areas."

"All the way over there?" Teresa asked, her voice strained. "For how long?"

"Uh, well, the better half of the school year." Justin explained.

"I don't know," Teresa sighed, looking tense. "That's a long time to be away from home. And what about your school work?"

"Professor Crumbs already has it arranged." Justin said matter-of-factly. "Don't worry, Mom, I'll be getting all A's." He winked.

She sighed. "Jerry, how do you feel about all of this?"

"Helloooo," Alex said, waving her hands. "What about me over here? Do I get to go to Hogwarts too?"

"No, Alex, there is no way. You're staying here." Teresa said sternly, not giving it a second thought.

Jerry nodded. "Yeah, Alex. Maybe you'll get the chance when you're old enough." He turned to Justin, "I think it's great. When do you leave? And are fathers permitted to go?" He asked hopefully.

Justin laughed, "Of course you guys can come to the tasks - Not you, though, Alex."

She crossed her arms and glared at him. "As if I'd want to go see you lose."

"You're just jealous." Justin said.

Alex huffed. "Of you? No. Of the guy who gets to beat you? Yes."

"You know what? Even if I don't get picked for the tournament, getting away from _you _for a few months is reward enough." He said bitingly.

Alex opened her mouth angrily, ready to retort, but Teresa was too fast.

"Enough!" She warned, her index finger raised. "Alex, go to your room. Or better yet, go help out Max in the sub station so that your father and I can actually talk civilly about this with Justin without you interrupting!"

Justin was beaming as Alex reluctantly dragged herself downstairs.

"What's wrong?" Harper asked immediately when she saw Alex's frown. "You look upset."

Alex groaned. "My parents are _so annoying!_" She complained, sitting down on one of the stools and crossing her arms. "Justin gets to go to Hogwarts for an entire school year with this amazing chance to compete in some tournament that is apparently really famous and I'm stuck _here._"

"Wait, what?" Harper asked, eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "What tournament? And what's Hogwarts?"

"It's another wizarding school. It's in England. I think." She shrugged. "Either way, I _need _to find a way to get there."

"You know what?" Harper said, grabbing a dish towel off the counter. "This sounds like something I don't want to be involved in. So, I'm just gonna go back into the kitchen and pretend like I never even saw you."

Alex rolled her eyes and gave a chuckle of laughter as her friend walked away. She didn't mind too much, she wasn't expecting Harper to contribute to her plan anyways.

First thing was first: She needed to find Professor Crumbs.

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><p>"What are you so happy about?" Justin asked Alex suspiciously as she skipped into the living room, sporting a toothy smile just two days after the news hit about the tournament.<p>

"Oh, nothing," Alex grinned. "Just the fact that your poor, helpless younger sister couldn't bear to be without her brother's guidance for so long and was permitted to go with you to Hogwarts."

Justin's mouth dropped. "What - No - How?" He spluttered. "You can't be serious? That couldn't of worked! Professor Crumbs knows you, he would of known you were lying!"

"Duh," Alex retorted. "Which is why I talked to his wife." She smiled devilishly. "She was _very _sympathetic."

Justin's eyes grew ten times wider, his fist clenched together so tightly that his knuckles became white. "MOM!" He screamed, "DAD!"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Here we go.." She muttered as her parents came bolting down the stairs.

"What is it?" Teresa asked frantically, "What's happened?"

Justin gritted his teeth. "_Alex_," He began, "Is plotting a way to get to go to Hogwarts and no doubt sabotage my chances of getting picked for the tournament!"

Teresa looked swiftly to her daughter, a glare in her eyes. "What did I say to you, Alex?"

"But Professor Crumbs gave me permission to go!" Alex argued, "Obviously he thinks I can handle it."

"What?" Justin gaped, "The only reason he permitted to you to go was because -"

"We don't need the details." Alex said through clenched teeth, looking towards Justin with a warning glare.

Jerry scrunched his eyebrows, "The Headmaster of WizTech gave you permission to go?" He asked, clearly not believing her.

Alex nodded, "He did! And I can prove it." She said, determination in her voice as she reached into her purse and pulled out a letter sealed with the WizTech stamp.

A flash of disbelief crossed over his face as he read the letter. "Wow, he really did." He muttered to himself.

"Yes, he did," Alex nodded. "Now all you have to do is sign your name on that little solid line and I'm all set to go!"

"Now, wait just a minute!" Teresa said frantically. "Alex, I don't care who gives you permission to go. This is ultimately my decision and I still say no!"

"See, I knew you were going to say that." Alex sighed, soon followed by a smirk. "But, if you fully read what that permission slip entails I _think _you might want to reconsider."

Teresa eyed her daughter suspiciously as she grabbed the slip from her husband. Her eyes scanned the paper, Alex watching with glee as they became wide.

"You-" Teresa spluttered, still staring at the piece of paper. "This would be guaranteed? Your grades would be taken care of..with all A's?"

Alex nodded, smirking. "Yup."

Teresa bit her lip, looking towards her husband. He sighed. "I wanna do the 'good parent' thing here and say no, Alex should have to work in order to get good grades but, this is Alex."

"Exactly!" Alex said excitedly, jamming a pen into her mother's hand. "Now sign!"

Teresa sighed. "Well, it is your junior year and these grades are extremely important for college. And God, do I want you to go to college." She took once last glance at Jerry, who nodded, and signed her name on the solid line.

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><p><strong>First chapter, complete! I already have a couple others finished as well so if you like the story I'll definitely post them :)<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm posting the second chapter now, just because I want to. :)**

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><p>"I can't believe this." Justin said as he carried his bags into the living room. Alex was already there, her piles of suitcases surrounding her. "I can't believe you're coming."<p>

She rolled her eyes. "Dude, get over it. You've known for like, two weeks now. And besides," She said, standing up to grab a drink. "You think I'm going to be hanging around you when there's a bunch of guys with accents around? It will be like I'm not even there."

"I'd like to believe that, but you're going to do something stupid and come running to me for help. Like always." He said bitterly. "Alex, if you mess this up for me-"

"I won't." She said assuringly. "Honestly, I think it'd be cool if you got to compete."

Justin stared at her, eyebrows raised. "Wait, really?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, I mean, I can't do it. So why not you?"

"You're scaring me."

She rolled her eyes at him for the second time. "I'm serious! Now go get the rest of my stuff for me. Professor Crumbs and the rest of the WizTech nerds are going to be here soon."

"You have _more _stuff?" He asked incredulously, staring at her already overly-large bags.

"I can't outfit repeat at Hogwarts!" She said, sighing dramatically. "Now go."

Justin narrowed his eyes at his younger sister. "You know, a _please _would be nice."

"Fine, will you _please_ go grab the rest of my bags?" She said with a sickly sweet smile plastered on her face.

He sighed, knowing that fighting with her was useless.

Alex placed her feet on the coffee table as Justin made his way upstairs. She couldn't help but feel pleased with herself. Even for her, scheming a way to Hogwarts for the Tri-Wizard tournament was a task in itself. But there was still that one issue that she knew was going to be even more difficult: Becoming a champion.

She already had Justin thinking that she's only in it for the boys. He's off her back, but she was completely oblivious to the way the whole selection process worked. But hey, she's Alex Russo. She'll find a way.

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><p>"Alex, what are you doing?" Justin hissed, staring at her with an exasperated look on his face.<p>

She scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "What?" She asked, but she realized what he was talking about before he could answer. She scanned the room filled with WizTech students - She was the only one who wasn't wearing the school robes.

"Oh." She said, nodding slowly. "Do we seriously have to wear those?" She asked, dreading the answer.

They arrived at Hogwarts in no less than ten minutes after they were picked up by Professor Crumbs in a magic van. She was annoyed just thinking about. The French arrived in a horse drawn carriage and the Hungarians spurted out of the water in a huge boat. And them... They arrived in a _van. _

And now, apparently, they were required to wear those hideous robes. Mustard yellow and black? Alex wasn't having it. "Haven't we embarrassed ourselves enough?"

Justin sighed, throwing Alex a robe. "Just put it on." He said forcefully, clearly unhappy with her.

She got dressed into the robe as if it was poisonous. She stared down at herself and let a pout escape her lips - No way would any of the boys here want to talk to her while she was wearing _this. _

"Okay, everyone!" Professor Crumbs called out loudly to the group of WizTech students. There weren't too many, only about twenty. Alex didn't understand why the entire school didn't just come. It seemed as if the other foreign schools did. But then again, Alex wasn't surprised. WizTech always was a little behind on the Wizard World outside of America.

"The feast is about to start and I would like to remind each one of you that you are not only representing yourselves, but our entire school as well. I expect all of you to be respectful. Remember, we are guests here!" He lectured, and Alex could of sworn he was staring at her as he said his last words.

"Now," He said, a smile appearing on his face. "Let's walk into their hall gracefully, shall we?"

Alex sighed, tugging at the arm of her robe. Justin gave her a warning glare as he passed. She followed the group as they made their way into Hogwarts castle. She had to catch her breath. It was incredible.

They were the first guests to arrive at the feast, all walking in with awkward smiles and waves. Alex resisted the urge to roll her eyes and took a seat.

"Oh my God," Justin said as he sat down next to Alex. "Alex!" He exclaimed, "It's Professor Dumbledore!"

"Who?" She asked, but her eyes were more focused on the empty table in front of her. "I thought there was supposed to be a feast?"

He ignored her. "Dumbledore is the greatest wizard of our time! He's a genius!"

Professor Crumbs stared at Justin stone-faced. "Well, I wouldn't go _that _far."

"What?" Justin said, completely oblivious to Professor Crumbs jealousy. "How can you say that with all that he's accomplished -"

But Justin never got to finish his sentence, because at that moment the Beauxbatons students came fluttering - yes, fluttering - through the doors.

Justin's mouth fell open as he watched the French girls make their way to their table.

"You can put your eyes back in now." Alex said, smirking.

Justin's face flushed, but he didn't say anything back. Alex watched as the Hungarians came stomping in, and her eyebrows came together in confusion. "Were we supposed to have some grand entrance or something?" She asked as sparks flew from their canes.

Professor Crumbs rolled his eyes. "No, they're just show-offs."

"And there's four schools." She said, looking at Crumbs with raised eyebrows. "Now, I know I'm not the best at Math but doesn't 'tri' mean three?"

"Yes," He said, narrowing his eyes at her. "But if you read the packet I gave you then you would of known that this year they decided to add on another school. America is always left behind." He said bitterly. "The strings we had to pull even to get here."

Alex ignored the rest of his bitter ramblings as she scanned the hall. It was filled to the max with students and adults. She noticed that the Hogwarts students were wearing hideous robes similar to their own, and that they were just as awkward.

Alex inwardly laughed as her brother was perched on the edge of his seat as that Professor Dumbledore guy started to speak. She payed no attention though and was more focused on her chipped nail polish than anything else.

After he finished speaking, the feast appeared. Alex's eyes widened. Now _this _she could get used to.

She skipped right over the salad and went straight for the chicken and mashed potatoes. She stuffed her face, paying no attention to the other WizTech students around her. But after a little while, their murmurs and wide eyes caught her attention.

She looked to Justin. "What's going on?"

Justin looked as if he were about to hyperventilate.

"I heard rumors but I didn't actually think I was going to _see _him, so up close and-"

"Slow down, nerd." Alex rolled her eyes. "Are you talking about Dumbledude again?"

"Dumble_dore_." Justin corrected, looking annoyed. "And no, I'm talking about Harry Potter!"

Alex raised her eyebrows. "You lost me again."

Each and every Wiztech student's eyes fell on her. "What?" She asked, perplexed.

"Alex, do you pay _any _attention to Dad? We spent an entire semester learning about the British History of Magic."

"But history is just so boring." She retorted with a sigh.

Justin sighed. "Harry Potter is infamous, Alex. He stopped one of the most feared dark wizard's of all time when he was just a baby!"

Alex nodded. "Impressive. So which one is he? The huge one with the beard?"

"What?" Justin's eyebrows creased. "No. He's sitting over there." He pointed slightly over to a table full of teenagers wearing black robes with red and orange ties.

"The ginger?" She asked, not feeling too convinced as she watched him double fist two turkey legs.

"No." Justin said, a slight edge to his voice. "The one next to him, with the black hair and the - Oh my God, you can actually _see _the scar!"

All of the WizTech students peered over the table, trying to get a better look.

Alex ignored them. "So, he's our age?" She asked curiously.

"Your age." Justin said. "Fourteen or fifteen. I'll have to look it up."

"Why don't we just ask him?" Alex said, watching him inquisitively.

"You will do no such thing!" Professor Crumbs hissed, staring wide-eyed at Alex. "I reluctantly allowed you on this trip, Ms. Russo, but you will not be embarrassing us."

"Embarrassing you?" Alex asked incredulously. "As if showing up in a _van _and waving like a bunch of idiots wasn't embarrassment enough."

Professor Crumbs narrowed his eyes. "That's enough."

"Alex!" Justin exclaimed, his voice strained. "You're going to get us both kicked out of here and straight back to New York if you don't keep your mouth shut."

"All I wanted to do was ask how _old _he was." She muttered under her breath as she crossed her arms tightly across her chest.

She then felt a nudge at her shoulder as Justin stood up. "Come on." He said, with a slight edge to his voice. "Time to leave. Me and the rest of those eligible for the tournament need to strategize with Professor Crumbs."

Alex stood up with the rest of her classmates. "Well, what am I supposed to do?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Sleep? Read? Whatever it is, don't go wandering off. _Please_."

She rolled her eyes. "You're no fun, but _fine._"

Justin gave her a grateful smile as they made their way back towards their van.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hope you're liking it so far :) **

**- Steph**

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><p>Alex really <em>did <em>try to keep her word to Justin. She sat in her cramped room in their stupid enchanted van with her roommate, a brown-haired girl named Natalie.

Natalie was chatting away on the phone on the top bunk (the room was too small for them to separate the beds) and of course, Alex got the bottom. But she was starting to get antsy. No TV, her iPod was un-updated, and her texts with Harper were starting to become boring.

She stood up. "I'm going to go for a walk." She said, and Natalie nodded, clearly not paying attention and too entranced in her conversation.

She had no idea where she was going. She didn't know where Justin, Crumbs, and the rest of the eligible students went off to in order to make their plans, but she had to make sure she didn't run into them. She walked along the Hogwarts grounds, and she had to hand it to them - It was really something.

The sun had already set, so the only thing lighting her way was the moon on the water and a light flickering up ahead. Never one to get nervous, Alex walked towards it until she could make out what it was. It was a small hut with what looked like a batch of pumpkins surrounding it.

She furrowed her eyebrows, but scoped it out anyways. Just as she was about to poke with a stick the strange creature that was sitting inside a cage, the huge man with a beard she saw earlier at the feast emerged.

Startled, she flew backwards and threw the stick to the ground.

"Who's there?" He asked, his voice raspy but definitely not as scary as she would have thought.

"Erm, sorry." She said, stepping into the light. "I was just...looking around."

Once he saw her, his face relaxed and he lowered what he was holding. Alex didn't ask, but it looked awfully similar to an umbrella.

"I'm Alex Russo." She said, sticking out her hand in her best attempt to be polite.

Alex thought she heard her bones crushing as he shook her hand. "Nice ta meet ya, Alex. Call me Hagrid." He studied her for a moment before adding, "American? I can tell by yer accent."

She nodded. "Yup. New York, actually."

"Never hear'd of it." He motioned inside. "Would yer like to come in fer some tea? Already got enough teenagers in here, anyways." He chuckled.

"Um," Alex sighed. What else was she doing? "Sure, tea sounds good."

She followed Hagrid inside the hut, and her eyes automatically fell to the dark-haired boy sitting at his table.

"Alex, this here is Harry Potter."

He looked at her with confusion, and maybe a sense of caution on his face. He nodded curtly. "Hello."

"Tha's Hermione Granger," He continued, motioning to a girl with bushy brown hair. She smiled sweetly and waved. "And tha's Ron Weasley."

The ginger kid that Alex remembered from earlier grinned. "Hey." He said casually.

"Take a seat!" Hagrid exclaimed, as Alex stood around awkwardly. She pulled out a chair and sat down.

She was always good with awkward situations, but this was something on a whole other level. The infamous Potter kid she was told about seemed distant and weary, and not too friendly. Did he think he was too good for her? The Hermione chick (seriously, what kind of name is that?) was nice, but she seemed a little stressed out as she stirred her tea around and around. The ginger still had his face full of food.

Yet, she felt as though she interrupted something..

"Alex is from America." Hagrid said as he brought her a cup of hot tea.

"Really?" Hermione's eyes shot up from her cup and bored into Alex's. "That's really interesting. You know, I've always found it a bit odd that Hogwarts doesn't teach much about America's witchcraft. I mean, of course, we've all learned about Salem. I've read, though, that America's wizard families have a competition?"

Alex was taken a back at Hermione's sudden outburst, but nodded. "Yeah, there's a wizard competition that takes place to see who becomes the family wizard... Wait. You don't have that?"

She shook her head, but looked mesmerized by Alex's words. "Oh, no. But that is really interesting. I wonder why they would do that. Do you train often?"

"Uh, well, I guess so."

"Hermione, stop chatting the girl's ears off!" Ron said, with a slight smiling pulling at his lips. "Sorry about her."

Hermione's face turned scarlet. "I'm trying to make conversation, Ron. I just think it's good to know how different cultures work is all."

"Yeah, yeah," He waved his hands dismissively. "Quite frankly, I'm glad we don't have a competition. Imagine me having to compete against all of my family? Ginny, I could take. Charlie? Bill? _Percy? _I'd end up a muggle."

"A what?" Alex asked before she could stop herself.

"Oh," Hermione intercepted, with an annoyed look from Ron thrown her way. "A muggle is a non-magical person."

"Like a mortal?" Alex asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Exactly!" Hermione exclaimed.

"So, what is this tournament about?" Alex asked tentatively, taking her first sip of tea. She almost gagged - it was disgusting, but she forced herself to sallow it anyways.

"It's just come back after being abandoned for years. It's highly dangerous. In fact, I think it's really good that they're setting an age limit."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Of course you do. If I could enter, I'd do it in a second. Right, Harry?"

All eyes fell towards him. "I dunno." He shrugged, finally speaking. "I think you'd be better suited for it, mate." He smirked.

"Oh, please," Hermione started. "Harry will be thankful that the attention isn't on him for once."

"Oi!" Ron exclaimed, causing everyone at the table to jump. "Do you think we'll actually have a normal year at Hogwarts?"

Hermione heaved a sigh of relief. "Don't _do that_, Ron!"

He ignored her and continued. "With all of the focus on the tournament and not on Harry or some psycho teacher or a three-headed dog -" At this, Hagrid's face turned a shade of pink " - or my rat actually being a person we might just be able to, you know, be average!"

Alex was officially lost, and by the way Harry was looking at her, she knew he knew that too.

"Yeah," Harry nodded. "Maybe we will!" Alex could hear the uncertainty in his voice, but apparently Ron couldn't.

"Excellent." He grinned. "Anyways, Fred and George are going to try to enter the tournament tomorrow with an age potion. Should be a sight to see. What do you say we watch them? Have a good laugh?"

"What idiots." Hermione muttered. "But, I suppose." She turned to Alex. "You're welcome to come, Alex."

"I'll probably be there anyways. My brother is entering."

"Really?" Hermione asked, that same interest in her voice that she always seemed to have. "I was wondering why you were here - Not to sound rude or anything, of course - it's just that you clearly aren't old enough for the tournament."

She smiled. "Well, actually, I did come with intentions of entering.."

"What do you mean? Surely you knew the rules?" Hermione asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Well..yeah.." Alex realized then that she probably should of just kept her mouth shut. "I just thought - Never mind."

"You could sneak a way in?" Ron asked, entranced. "Well, let me know if you do!"

"_Ron!" _Hermione scolded as Harry laughed.

"But, now that you know.. You're not going to do it, right?" Hermione asked, a slight edge to her voice that was very reminiscent of her older brother.

"Course' not." Alex said, but Harry looked at her with an eyebrow raised. He clearly wasn't falling for it. Alex hid her grin.

"Who do you think will be champion from your school?" Ron asked, taking a bite out of what looked like a rock and getting Hermione off of Alex's back.

Alex shrugged. "I haven't put much thought into it. I mean, my brother _is _really good at magic." She said reluctantly, but truthfully. "Maybe he will."

"Well, my votes on Angelina Johnson from our school. As long as it's not that prat Diggory."

Hermione sighed. "He's not _that _bad, Ron. He's actually very nice."

Ron glared. "You're only saying that because you think he's _dreamy._"

"No, I'm not!" Hermione retorted.

Harry gave Alex an apologetic look for his friends as they continued to bicker. Alex got the feeling that it was something that happened often.

"A'right, it's gettin' late!" Hagrid said, standing up from the table, nearly knocking it over. Alex thought he must of been getting annoyed at Ron and Hermione as well. He smiled at her. "It was nice ter meet ya, but I don' want yer school to think we've kidnapped ya!" He laughed at his own joke.

She smiled. "Uh, thanks, Hagrid."

"Come n' visit whenever!" He exclaimed.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all stood up as well.

"It was nice meeting you, Alex. Hopefully we'll see you tomorrow!" Hermione smiled encouragingly.

"Yeah." Ron agreed, leaning in so Hermione couldn't hear. "And if you find out how to.. you know.."

Alex snickered. "Gotcha."

Harry, like when he greeted her hello, nodded his head and waved a hand.

They went the opposite way, towards the castle. Alex watched their retreating backs for a while before making her way back to the van. Though he barely spoke, there was something so endearing about Harry, she thought.

Probably because he was famous, or maybe because he barely spoke. Or maybe because he's really, really cute. Still, she couldn't believe that she just got thrown into a situation with Harry Potter and his friends. She just had to make sure Justin didn't find out..


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the wait! I think my summer job has missed the part where I'm not a full time employee? Haha. Anyways, hope everyone had a good Fourth of July weekend! Here's chapter four :)**

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><p>"Where have you been?"<p>

Alex inwardly groaned. There, standing in her room with his arms firmly across his chest was Justin; in tow with a very guilty-looking Natalie behind him.

"You went for a _walk?_" He asked, an unconvinced glare in his eyes. Natalie put her head down as her face turned a shade of pink. Alex clearly knew who it was who sold her out.

She sighed. "Yes, _mom. _I went for a walk."

He raised his eyebrows. "For two hours? Where did you go? Oh God, what did you do?"

She rolled her eyes as she plopped herself down on her bunk. "Nothing! I met some people." She said vaguely.

"Some people?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

She nodded. "Yeah, some students from Hogwarts. We talked for a while, that's all!"

Justin made a 'pshh' sound. "Hogwarts students aren't allowed on the grounds after dark, nice try."

This was news to Alex - She never would of thought that the prissy girl she had just meant would ever break a rule. "Well, these students obviously didn't care."

"Great," He said sarcastically. "You've already made other delinquent friends."

She couldn't help but laugh; If only he knew who she was really with.

"This isn't funny, Alex. I was worried. I thought you might of did something stupid." He sighed.

"Thanks for worrying about my safety." She retorted, arms crossed.

He rolled his eyes. "Tomorrow's the big day, I have to get some sleep. You should do the same."

She didn't say a word as Justin left her room. She was annoyed at him for treating her the way he just did; As if she was some sort of child who needed watching over at all times.

A few moments later and Natalie's head popped down from the top bunk. "I'm really sorry." She said, her face red and her voice dripping with sympathy. "He asked where you were. I didn't know he was going to get so mad."

Alex managed a small smile. "He's always like that. It's fine, I'm used to it."

Natalie smiled. "Okay. Next time, I'll be sure to cover to for you."

This time Alex really did smile. She officially liked her roommate. "Thanks."

Morning came way too fast. Natalie's alarm woke her up and she would of ignored it and fell back asleep if it wasn't for her roommate's constant shuffling around the room.

She rubbed her eyes and forced herself to sit up.

Natalie didn't pause. "Sorry, did I wake you?" She asked hurriedly. "I'm just freaking out. I'm putting my name into the cup today and tonight they're going to announce the champions and I heard a rumor that the sooner you get there the better chance you have and _ugh!_" She stopped, catching her breath and throwing a strapless bra across the room. "I can't find my tie _anywhere!_"

Alex stared for a minute before laughing. "Breathe, okay? And your tie is hanging on the door."

Natalie's face flushed pink. "Oh, right. Thanks."

She grabbed the yellow tie and proceeded to put it on over her robes.

Alex figured she should do the same. She needed to get there as early as she possibly could if she wanted time to figure out how to put her name in the cup. She stood up out of bed and got ready.

"Want to walk together?" Natalie asked, looking as nervous as ever. It was clear she didn't want to go alone.

Alex shrugged. "Sure."

Justin was already outside when Alex and Natalie came out together. His face scrunched in confusion. "You're up early."

"Yeah, well, those beds aren't exactly comfortable."

He shook his head and the three of them made their way up to the castle.

They entered a large room that was packed with people from all four schools. They were all surrounding the cup, Alex assumed, but she couldn't even see it.

"Good luck, Natalie." Justin said, but his voice was faltering.

She gave him a small smile. "Yeah, you too."

Both of them parted ways, too wrapped up in themselves at that moment, leaving Alex alone.

And she was beginning to get nervous. She couldn't believe after all she went through to get to this point, she still didn't know how she was going to enter. She watched as students of all different shapes and sizes, uniforms and languages, put their names into the goblet. How she was supposed to even do it with all of these people around?

Her mind was boggling. Deciding that it was best to sit down, she took a seat at one of the long tables. This would be about the time that she would use magic to get her way - but that Dumbledore guy seemed pretty legit and a lot more difficult to get around than Professor Crumbs. Anxious and losing hope, it took her a full ten minutes to realize she was receiving a lot of dirty looks from students in black and green robes.

"You're sitting at the Slytherin table." A british-accented voice came from behind her, making her jump slightly. She turned around quickly, only to see the same head of bushy hair from the previous night.

"Oh," Alex started. "Hey, Hermione." She paused, remembering what she said. "I'm sitting where?"

Hermione smiled. "We have four houses here at Hogwarts. There's Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. And you happen to be sitting at the Slytherin table."

Alex nodded. "Oh, sorry, I didn't realize it was a big deal."

Hermione glowered. "It's not. Slytherin isn't exactly the friendliest of sorts."

"Fine, then." Alex said, standing up and looking at the other students who were sitting at the table. "Happy now?" She sneered at them.

Hermione's eyes widened and she cleared her throat nervously. "Harry and Ron are over there, why don't we go say hello?"

She nodded and followed Hermione over to the two boys.

"I can't see a thing." Ron complained as Alex and Hermione approached them. "Oh, hi." He greeted as he saw Alex. "Did you ever -"

"-No." Alex cut him off, already knowing what he was going to ask. She honestly didn't want to hear about it. She was stressing enough as it was.

Harry gave Alex a small smile and a slightly awkward wave before averting his attention back to watching people entering.

She sighed. She _needed_ to figure something out. "Hey, I'm gonna go look for my brother. I'll catch up with you guys later."

Hermione smiled. "Alright!"

"You're gonna miss Fred and George -"

Alex didn't hear the rest of Ron's sentence as she bolted away as quickly as possible. She walked out into the corridor, hoping to get some peace and quiet, but hushed whispers caught her ears instead.

Curious, she followed to where they were coming from. A freaky looking man with a fake eye and a limp was talking, messing around with what looked like a huge load of potions.

"Yes," He was saying. "All I have to do is put this paper in with the boys name and he's in. Dumbledore, the fool."

Alex was trying to figure out what he meant. Or who he was talking to. Though he was crazy enough to look as though he would be talking to himself, something told her there was somebody else.

"I'll set up the separate Goblet at night, guaranteeing a spot."

Her ears perked up at that and she quickly stumbled away as he was getting closer to her. She didn't know what this wack job was planning - but she did know how and when she was going to enter the tournament.

* * *

><p>Night time did not come quickly. Alex waited around anxiously outside of the Great Hall, hidden from view. She didn't know exactly when that weirdo was going to set up the separate goblet and she wasn't about to risk taking a chance. She needed to be watching at all times.<p>

After basically chewing off every nail on her right hand, he appeared. She held her breath and squinted her eyes, watching him like a hawk.

_What is he doing? _She thought. When she actually took a moment to think about something other than herself, she realized that this guy worked for Dumbledore... and he had called him a fool. He was obviously going against all the rules and putting someone's name into the cup. But whose? Was she on to some big mystery here?

She ducked and took cover once again when she saw him leaving. Waiting five minutes and making sure that he was gone, she quietly crept into the Hall. The Goblet was standing there, tall and inflamed. And exactly how it looked earlier. Did he make a new Goblet and then take it? Or did he take the enchantment off the regular one? Figuring she had nothing else to lose, she dropped her name into the cup.

She waited, and waited, and waited. Nothing happened. A huge smile made it's way across her face and her heart sped up - in a good way. She did it.

* * *

><p>It had been a really long day and night, Alex decided. And it still wasn't over. They were picking the champions at nine o'clock sharp in the Great Hall. She was really get sick of that place.<p>

"Come on, Alex!" Justin said excitedly. "We can't be late for this!"

Alex had to hide her grin. "No, of course not."

She made her way into the hall with her brother and the rest of the WizTech students. Hermione caught her eye as she entered from the Gryffindor table and gave her a smile and wave. Alex, too happy to hide it, smiled and waved back.

Justin gave her a strange look. "How do you know that girl?"

"Shh." Alex said, as Dumbledore stood in the middle of the Hall, next to the Goblet.

Once Justin saw his idol, he forgot all about his question immediately.

Dumbledore drabbled on about the tournament and the rules and blah blah blah. Alex didn't care. She wanted to see if her plan was going to work.

"From Durmstrang," He started. Alex's heart had already started beating hard. "Viktor Krum!"

The Durmstrang students all started cheering wildly as Viktor Krum made his way to the front.

Dumbledore smiled. "From Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour!" A gorgeous, blond-haired girl floated her way to the front. She was so beautiful, it seemed as if she was glowing. Alex rolled her eyes.

"From WizTech," Alex thought he had was going to stop. A long pause. Okay, he heart _definitely _stopped. The Goblet then turned from blue to red, the flames erupting like wild fire. Everyone was looking on with wide eyes, and gasping when a piece of paper was finally shot out.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Alex Russo."

Justin's mouth dropped. Every single one of WizTech's students were staring at her in disbelief. She stood up slowly. No one was clapping. No one was saying anything.

She smiled nervously at Dumbledore when she got to the floor. He said nothing and handed her the piece of paper.

_Awkward. _Alex thought as she was led into a back room with the other champions.

Fleur smiled brightly. "You are ze American champion?" She asked, then furrowed her eyebrows and turned to Krum. "She looks a bit young, no?"

"I'm -"

She didn't get to finish though, because she was temporarily shocked as Harry Potter made his way into the room, followed by a very angry looking group of people.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the wait - again. I'm trying to get these chapters out as quickly as I can. But I want them to be good! And yes, I'm going to complain about work again. It's officially taking over my summer. But thank you so, so much for reviewing, subscribing, and favoriting this! I love writing it :)**

* * *

><p>"Harry, Ms. Russo," Dumbledore started, calmly. He was the only calm adult in the room. "Did you put your names into the Goblet?"<p>

"No, sir." Harry said automatically and seemingly sincerely.

"No, sir, neither did I." Alex answered, and admittedly, she was a bit scared. She didn't want to say that she did. Then they'd ask her how she managed it. And honestly, she didn't even know the answer to that.

Her eyes darted around the room and she found him. The weird looking guy with the twitchy fake eye. He was looking on with mild interest, his real eye never leaving Harry.

"They're lying!" The Durmstrang headmaster shouted, obviously upset over the entire thing.

The Beauxbaton's headmaster, a woman of enormous height that only Hagrid could rival, didn't seem too fazed by the ordeal. "I don't see ze the problem." She said, and all eyes fell on her. "What? They were chosen, were they not? What does ze age matter? Ze Goblet theenks they are good enough."

"But this is too dangerous!" Shouted an older looking woman, a look of panic in her eyes. "This requires advanced magic! Magic way beyond that of two fourteen-year-olds!"

"I see your concern, Professor McGonagall." Dumbledore began. "But as it is said, the Goblet warrants a binding contract. Unless Mr. Crouch here says otherwise, they must compete."

Mr. Crouch had a dazed look on his face. He looked at a loss of words, but after a few moments he nodded. "Dumbledore is right. They have no choice."

Alex was no longer feeling proud nor excited about getting into the tournament. Instead, a new feeling was settling in, right into the bottom of her stomach: dread.

"Excuse me," Professor Crumbs said, clearing his throat. Alex hadn't even noticed him there, and according to other Headmaster's expressions, neither did they. "If I may," He sounded annoyed. Apparently he realized that he went unnoticed as well. "I don't know about Mr. Potter here, but I do know Alex Russo. I bet anything she found a way around your enchantments." He shot a stern look her way.

Mr. Crouch did not seemed fazed by this. "If it so, it still does not matter." He turned to face her. "Alex Russo is a TriWizard Champion."

* * *

><p>Crumbs told her to go back to her room, get some sleep, and that they'd talk about the situation tomorrow. He 'needed time to think.' All the students of WizTech whispered things as she walked through the hallway of their van, trying to get to her room.<p>

"Justin!" She called out as she saw him, standing a few feet away talking with a boy Alex didn't recognize.

He looked at her for a minute, before a frown set in on his face and he turned sharply away from her. She sighed. It wasn't as if she expected anything different from her brother.

The first person to really say something to her about the matter was Natalie. She looked stumped. "How'd you do it?" She asked after a long bout of silence when Alex entered their room.

Alex shifted uncomfortably in her bed. "I-" She began, but then realized she didn't know what to say. She had never thought of the aftermath of her plan. "I don't know." She finally finished, lamely.

Natalie sighed, but said nothing else.

It took Alex a long time to fall asleep that night - She laid awake, wondering what on Earth she got herself into. She thought about the fake-eyed dude, and how he planted a fake Goblet to put someone's name in. It had to be Harry Potter's. She just knew it. But why? She had no answers to any of her questions, and she was starting to feel nervous. She wondered how Harry was handling it and if he also lay awake, his thoughts all-consuming.

By the time Alex was finally able to sleep and awoke the next morning, she had convinced herself that everything that happened the night before was a dream. Natalie's subtle distance from Alex, though, gave her the feeling that it wasn't. And then Justin's blatant disregard for her altogether made her positive.

WizTech students wouldn't talk to her. Her brother wouldn't talk to her. Natalie only gave her short, one-word answers.

This was not the 'eternal glory' she was hoping for.

She walked into The Great Hall at breakfast time, hoping to find Harry. True, they were in no way friends. They were barely acquaintances. But if anyone would understand, it would be him.

Ron was the first one she spotted. But Harry or even Hermione were no were to be seen. She walked up to him.

"Hi, Ron." She greeted.

He turned around from his food. His face fell once he saw her. "Hi." He said, a bit of an edge to his voice.

Alex thought it was strange, but ignored it. "Have you seen Harry?"

He did not look as though Harry was anything he wanted to talk about. "Dunno. Probably practicing for an interview or something? What should I know, anyhow? You're a champion, you'd know better than me."

Alex gaped, completely taken-a-back. "Listen, just because -

But Ron did not want to listen to Alex, and quickly cut her off. "So how'd you do it? Harry won't tell me." He said, his eyes gleaming with anger. "Suppose you two must've gone and done it together, right?"

"What? No!" Alex retorted, furious with how Ron was talking to her. They weren't even friends!

"Whatever." He muttered, turning his back to her.

Alex opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. Annoyed, she stormed out of The Great Hall. It wasn't like she had an appetite to begin with.

She passed a bunch of older Hogwarts students, a group of girls who shot her looks of curiosity as she walked by. She crossed her arms as she made her way out onto the grounds.

That's where she saw him. Or them, actually. Harry and Hermione were walking side by side along the lake, looking deep in conversation. It didn't look as if they wanted to be bothered, but that has never stopped Alex before. She walked right up to the two friends.

"Hi." She said, no other words forming in her mind.

Harry stared. Hermione gave her a weak smile. "Hello, Alex."

She decided to get right to the point. "Listen, Harry, I was hoping we could talk."

"Oh, erm," He stammered, glancing sideways at Hermione. She nodded for him to go on.

"I'll see you in the common room, Harry." She said, smiling at Alex again as she departed.

"I have to ask you," Alex started once they were alone. She needed to make sure her suspicions were right. "You were telling the truth, right? You didn't put your name into the cup?"

He looked a bit peeved and as if he did not want to be having that conversation. "No, I didn't. Did you?" He looked as if he already knew the answer to that.

She took a shaky breath. "Well, there's a story behind this. One of your Professors, the -"

"Ms. Russo!" Crumbs came barreling towards her. "I have been looking for you. I think it's time we had our little talk."

"I know, Professor, but -"

"I will _not _be victim to any more of your excuses. Now come with me."

Harry looked at her questionably. He seemed a lot more eager to continue their conversation when Alex mentioned one of his Professors. The look she gave him was a mix of "sorry" and "we'll finish this later."

He nodded, understanding.

"Professor, I'm sorry," Alex began, and it seemed to take him by surprise.

"You're - _sorry_?" He asked, as if he's never heard of the word before.

Alex ran her fingers through her hair, something she doesn't do often. But she was tense. "Yes, I'm sorry for scheming my way in here. But I think there's something up with one of the Hogwarts Professors."

He raised his eyebrows. "Before you continue, you should know to think before you accuse."

"I know!" She retorted. "And I have no proof of what happened, just my word. But it's how I got my name into the cup."

He said nothing but stared, so Alex continued.

"The strange looking man with the fake eye. I heard him talking to someone. I don't know who. But he was planning on putting someone's name into the cup and then -" She stopped herself. What _was _he planning on doing after he got Harry's name into the cup and had him chosen?

"Then?" Professor Crumbs urged, looking at her in disbelief.

"I just, I don't know what he's planning. But I do know that he put Harry Potter's name into that cup. He had to of."

"So, let me just elaborate here." Crumbs started, "You admit that _you _got your name into the cup yourself. And now you're accusing a Hogwarts teacher, Professor Moody, if I'm correct, of putting Harry Potter's name in? Why would he do that?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out!" Alex shouted desperately. "But I just know it isn't anything good. I think we should tell Dumbledore."

Crumbs eyes narrowed and his entire posture tensed at the mention of Dumbledore. "We will _not. _You don't think I can handle this?"

"No," Alex shook her head. "That's not what I meant. But if it's his staff, then I think he should know."

Crumbs shook his head. "No, you have no proof, no evidence. I'm not making a fool out of myself or our school here. Although, you've already managed to do _that._ You're to compete in this tournament, Alex. The foreign schools think were a big joke as it is. You're not getting involved in anything else."

Alex gaped. "But this could be important!"

"Then we'll let Dumbledore deal with it. He's so great, he should be able to figure it out himself, right?" He retorted bitterly, before strutting away back to the van.

Alex was at a lost. What was she playing at, anyways? Trying to turn from the villain to the hero in a matter of a day. It didn't work like that and now she knew. She was in the tournament and dangerous tasks were about to come her way. And that was the _only _thing she should be worrying about.

* * *

><p>That night during dinner, Alex sat in the Great Hall, eating a few feet away from her fellow classmates. It seemed no one wanted anything to do with the girl who cheated her way into the tournament.<p>

She dug her fork into her potatoes angrily, her eyes downcast until she heard someone clear their throat awkwardly in front of her. She looked up and met a pair of bright, emerald green eyes. Harry Potter was staring down at her, his face expectant.

She dropped her fork down on her plate and ignored the stares she was getting from the entire hall.

"Yes?" She asked, although she knew exactly why it was he was there.

He look dumbfounded. "I thought maybe we could finish our conversation from earlier."

"Oh, right," She said. "Well, you don't know how you got put into that cup and neither do I. Guess we got lucky."

He raised his eyebrows, a look of disbelief crossing his face. "Lucky?" He stammered, sitting down across from her. Apparently the conversation wasn't going to end as quickly as Alex had hoped.

"How do you consider this to be _lucky_?"

She rolled her eyes. "People would kill to be able to compete! _Hello_, money and glory?"

He shook his head. "Yeah, if you make it out alive. Do you even get how - never mind." He stopped himself, and looked at Alex gravely. "You wanted to be in this tournament from the very start."

Alex said nothing, but still Harry did not get up. "Weren't you saying something earlier? About one of my Professors?"

"Hmm? Oh." Alex said, trying to sound uninterested. "That. Right. Well, I heard one of your Professors talking about the tournament... he was saying... you know.. that it wasn't going to be as dangerous. Or something. So don't worry."

He didn't look very convinced, and Alex didn't blame him. "You sounded worried yourself earlier." He retorted, stony-faced.

Alex stared at him blankly. Kid didn't give up. "Well, not to put you on the spot or anything, but you _are _Harry Potter. Excuse me for coming off as a little bit nervous." It was a downright lie. She hadn't even heard of him before she got to Hogwarts, but on the other hand, he did make her feel a bit nervous. She shook that thought from her head.

At this, he stood up. "Fine. I suppose I'll see you tomorrow at the - er, photo op." He sounded uncomfortable just saying it, and he looked annoyed as he made his way back to his seat, which was next to Hermione. Ron, she noticed, was still not with them.

It wasn't until he was gone that Alex had let sink in what he had said. "Wait, a _photo op?_" She muttered to herself.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Alex was being pampered and pressed upon by Natalie, who seemed to be completely over the fact that she was not chosen.<p>

"I wonder if you're going to have to take photos with the other champions. Ooh!" She exclaimed. "Since you and Harry are clearly going to be the stars, I mean, with the most publicity because you're both underage-" She continued to ramble. "-you'll probably get to do a photoshoot with him!"

Alex sighed. "Wooo." She said, dead-panned and sarcastically.

Natalie raised her eyebrows. "Oh, come on, he's famous and, while being obviously too young for me - he _is _a cutie."

Alex felt her cheeks burn, but she kept her voice steady. "Oh, whatever. Krum's just as famous as Harry is!"

"You didn't even know Krum was famous until I told you last night." She smirked. "And I didn't even know until I was talking to one of the Durmstrang boys - which reminds me, I need to find him. He was hot."

Alex didn't know what had gotten into Natalie up until that point. The Durmstrang boy, Alex thought. He must be the reason she was acting so giddy.

"But, anyways, Quidditch isn't popular in America at all. Which results in their players being.. well, not so famous over there. Harry, on the other hand, is." She nodded her head, as if she had just made some hugely important point.

"It doesn't matter anyways. I don't want to take pictures with any of them." Alex said, her mind then going towards Fleur, who was so beautiful she didn't even want to stand next to her, let alone take a picture with her.

"Well, you have no choice." Natalie said, holding a make-up brush to Alex's face. "Close your eyes, and stay still."

Alex compiled, thinking it best not to argue with her. She had finally gotten someone back on her side.

"And... Done!" Natalie exclaimed, a huge smile plastered on her face. "Take a look." She said, shoving a mirror into Alex's hands.

Alex held up to see her reflection. She had to admit, Natalie did a good job. She made it look extremely natural, which made Alex relieved. She didn't want to walk into the photo op looking like a clown. He hair was in soft waves that Alex truly did admire. The only problem was her robe, but she assumed they'd let her change into something else at the shoot... hopefully.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Natalie asked, wide-eyed. "You're going to be late, and I've got a boy to find." She quickly grabbed her purse. "Can't wait to hear all about it later!"

Natalie dashed out of the room, Alex trailing in her wake. Usually the prospect of being able to model and being featured in a newspaper or magazine would excite her, but ever since she got herself into this mess she's been feeling less and less thrilled about anything that has to do with it.

And meeting the woman with platinum blond hair and bright red lipstick who wore a sickly grin on her face did not help Alex to change her mind.

"I'm Rita Skeeter." She said, smiling from ear to ear. "But of course, you already know that."

The man behind her was flashing cameras at them already, causing Alex to blink rapidly, her best attempt not to go blind.

"The world wants to get to know _you._" She exclaimed, pointing a long, manicured fingernail at the four champions.

She eyed them for a moment. "Harry Potter, we'll start with you."

Of course she'd want to start with him, the most famous of them all. She looked all too eager to get him alone. Harry stood up slowly, looking uncomfortable and awkward as he followed Rita Skeeter out of sight.

It felt like he was gone for ages. Each one of them were required to take shots by themselves. And they did change her out of her school robes - but only into a shirt with her school colors on them, and her last name "Russo" etched onto the back. Her and Krum only took a few shots, whereas the man couldn't seem to take his camera away from Fleur.

"Turn to the right." He said, snapping his camera profusely. "Beautiful!" He exclaimed. "Now, give me a hard look. One that says you're more than just a pretty face!"

Fleur beamed, clearly loving the attention.

Alex sighed, turning away. Just then, Harry was making his way back with the Skeeter woman, looking confused and angry.

"The American," She started, and Alex raised her eyebrows as Rita looked at a sheet of paper. "Ah, yes, Alex Russo. This way, please."

Alex followed her, reluctantly. She sat them down in a small, enclosed space - was this a _broom _cupboard? She gaped at the woman in front of her.

"Let's get started, shall we?"

She took out a floating quill and parchment and stared right into Alex's eyes.

"Lets get right to the point, here." She began, her falsely sweet voice ringing in Alex's ears. "Everyone wants to know about Alex Russo. The, well," She sniggered. "Nobody from America who managed to break through Dumbledore's enchantments."

Alex raised her eyebrows. The _nobody_?

"But you're clearly no ordinary witch. At fourteen years old, competing in the TriWizard tournament!" She gushed. "Of course, though, you're not the only one. Did you and Mr. Potter plan this together?"

"Me and - What? No, no." Alex shook her head. "I didn't know this was going to happen to Harry either."

"Ri-ight." Rita nodded, smirking. "You two must of planned this from the moment you got here! Tell me, was it love at first sight? Two troublesome teenagers bonding over their love of rebellion?"

"Excuse me?" Alex snorted loudly. "I barely even know him!"

She ignored this. "Was it his famous name that drew you to him? It isn't a secret that you love attention."

Alex narrowed her eyes at the woman in front of her. She wasn't listening to anything Alex was saying and her stupid quill was moving a mile a minute. She peered over the top of the parchment, and her mouth fell open.

"Hey!" Alex shouted, "I do _not _have a sinister smirk on my face and I _never _agreed that I was attracted to Harry's fame!"

Rita stared, her smile dropping. She faced her palm upwards and the notebook folded itself, that and the quill flying back into her hands. She placed them in her purse and stood up. "I think we're done here." She said, and she smirked once more. "I've gotten everything I needed."

Alex couldn't believe the woman. She was beyond angry when she arrived back with the other champions. She could barely bring herself to look at Harry. When the articles came out.. She felt her face turning red just by thinking about it. But there was no way he would believe it, right? He dealt with that terrible woman too. Still, it wouldn't stop the rest of the schools from reading it and believing it.

She inwardly groaned. As if she didn't have _enough_ to worry about it as it was.

* * *

><p><strong>So, I realize it's been moving at a pretty slow pace. But the tasks and all that are going to be starting soon! And I'm trying hard not to make it seem like you're just re-reading <em>The Goblet of Fire<em>, but it is going to be somewhat similar, obviously. Anyways, I still hope you liked the chapter! Reviews are great ;) Xo**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm happy to say that I got this chapter out a lot sooner than usual! :) It's a bit of a filler but I still hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

><p>The next week and a half went by like one, big blur. Alex had barely anyone to talk to. She only had Natalie, but her older friend had started to spend so much time with Gregori, the attractive Durmstrang boy she met, that the moments she had with Alex were now minimal.<p>

The longest conversation she had was with her mother, who got wind of what happened from Professor Crumbs. She awoke one morning to her phone ringing, and a loud, ear-piercing voice coming in through the other line.

"Hi to you too, mom." She had said, trying to lighten the mood.

She just knew her mom's eyes were blazing on the other side. "How _could _you?" Her mom said, disappointment flooding through the phone line. Alex felt her heart drop.

"I allow you to go this trip and this is how you repay me? Your father and I haven't even been able to sleep! You're so young, Alex!" She said hysterically, worry over-powering her anger. "Do you understand the danger you put yourself in? People have died in these tournaments!"

"I know, mom, I'm sorry. But they _have _made it so they'll be no deaths." She said in a small, squeaky voice that sounded nothing like herself.

Her mom sighed on the other line. "Please, _please _be careful. That's all I want right now. When this is over, _then_ we'll discuss your punishment."

Alex nodded, almost forgetting that her mother couldn't actually see her. "Okay. Fair enough."

"Your father and I will be coming for your first task, we're setting it up with Professor Crumbs." She said, her voice becoming softer. "And Alex, please try and mend things with your brother. You need him now more than ever."

"I know, I'll try. I love you, mom."

"I love you too, Alex." She said, and she could've sworn she heard a sniffle. "I'll see you soon."

Alex hung up her phone, her heart racing for reasons she couldn't explain. She knew her mother was right. She had to try and get Justin to talk to her. But her efforts had been dismal and her brother was was still giving her the cold shoulder. She hadn't even spoken to Harry, Hermione, or Ron in some time either. Not that she thought of them as some close, personal friends, but still.

The last time she had spoken to Harry had been right after Rita Skeeter's article came out, in a newspaper labeled _The Daily Prophet. _Apparently, a lot more people read the newspaper when your outside of the United States. It rambled on and on about how Alex claimed she and Harry were as thick as thieves.

"_We hit it off the moment I arrived."_ One line stated, along with - "_We both love adventure. Did we put our names into the cup? Well, I'll let you decide that for yourself._"

Alex had almost been sick the first time she went through the article. Rita was trying to give images to all of the champions, deciding that Alex would the snarky, rebellious girl with a thirst for attention.

After she had read it, she went to find Harry immediately. Lucky for her, she caught site of him making his way to Hagrid's hut. He was alone, something Alex was very thankful for.

"Harry!" She had called out to him as she jogged to where he was standing.

"Listen, about the article -" She began, trying to catch her breath.

He simply waved his hand dismissively and shook his head. "Forget it." He said, "She's a liar and I don't believe a word of any of it."

Alex felt as if a huge weight had been taken off her shoulders. She smiled, relieved. "Good."

"Wish I could say the same for the rest of the school, though." He muttered, bitterly.

The smile on Alex's face was very short-lived. She frowned. "They'll come around." But even she could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

He shrugged, said nothing, and continued on his way to Hagrid's.

Conversation, Alex could tell, was not Harry's strong suit. But then again, he had a lot of other things to worry about.

Alex's article may of been a bunch of lies about how she was using Harry Potter for fame and attention, but Harry's article may have hit even a bigger nerve.

It stated things like, "_It's a cry for help." _and "_His eyes glistened with tears at the mention of his deceased parents." _

Alex had heard that Harry had defeated the darkest wizard of all time when he was just a baby, but she had never knew the story behind it. Which was why, now, she was doing something she had never done before: reading. Willingly. In a library.

She was sitting at a table alone in the Hogwarts library. She spotted Hermione a few tables down, her nose so far in a book that Alex thought it was best if she didn't bother her with a stupid "hello".

Alex opened the wide book that she had in front of her. It was called _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts. _She peered through the contents, and found exactly what she was looking for.

"_Lord Voldemort's downfall_" was the name of the chapter. She skipped to it, and began reading the lines on the page.

Her eyes widened and she felt her heart sink as the words etched themselves into her mind. "_-Lily and James Potter, well-known for fighting against the Dark Arts -" _She read, knowing that they were Harry's parents, "- _murdered by Lord Voldemort himself -" _She gasped as she read the next part. "- _as he tried to kill their son, Harry Potter, but for some reason still unknown today, was unable too -"_

"Ultimately leading to his downfall." Alex muttered the last part out loud to herself, now understanding. No wonder why Harry was the way he was. He had no family. He was an orphan, thrust into the spotlight for something he probably can't even remember doing. She suddenly felt very sorry for him.

"What are you doing here?" Came a disbelieving voice from behind her. She whipped around in her seat, and she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face.

"Justin." She said breathlessly, relieved. Even if his tone wasn't exactly friendly, he was speaking to her. And that was a start.

He took a seat next to her. "This is history in the making. You? In a library?" He snatched the book from her, which was still opened to the page she was reading.

For some reason or another, she felt violated and her face burned with embarrassment.

He rolled his eyes. "I should of known," He said, shaking his head. "Trying to dig up dirt on the competition?"

"No!" She shouted, causing the librarian to send a very stern look her way. "No," She said more quietly. "I was just - I don't know. Trying to figure him out."

He raised his eyebrows. "O-kay." He said slowly. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know." She sighed. "He's so.. isolated. Withdrawn."

Justin shrugged. "Well, he does live with his aunt and uncle who treat him really badly. You know he didn't even know he was a wizard, let alone famous, until he got his Hogwarts letter?"

Alex's mouth fell open. "Really? No wonder fame hasn't gotten to his head."

"Yeah, guess he's lived a pretty hard life." Justin said, but he didn't sound too interested in the subject of Harry Potter anymore. Instead, he was staring at his sister. "So, you know the first task is only a week away, right?"

Alex groaned. "Of course I do. But how do they expect me to train for it if I haven't got any idea what I'm dealing with?"

"Dragons." He said simply.

"What?" Alex asked, her eyebrows coming together in confusion.

"The first task is dragons."

Good thing she was already sitting down, because she felt her legs tremble. "Like big, fire-breathing dragons? I have to fight a _dragon?_"

"Shh!" He said, putting a finger up to his lips. "Don't go screaming about it! I was up really late last night. I couldn't sleep and I saw them being brought into that forest. There were four of them, just enough for each champion." He looked at her with a solemn expression. "You really need to start practicing, Alex. I don't think you're going to have to _fight _it, per say. But I guarantee you're going to have to get around it."

She buried her face into her hands. "I'm so dead." She said, her voice muffled.

"I'll help you." He said, his face contorting into a smile. "I'm sorry I've been ignoring you. I'm still mad at you, though." He said quickly as Alex's face lit up. "But I don't want to see my sister get hurt."

She hugged him tightly, taking him by surprise. "Thank you!" She exclaimed. "And I'm so sorry I did this, Justin."

"Oh, um, it's okay." He said, awkwardly. Alex grinned. She knew it was a rare occurrence for Justin to get an apology from her.

Alex finally shut the book tightly, and stood up. "Better put this back." She said, as Justin followed her lead. They exited the library together in a comfortable silence, which was just enough for Alex. She had her brother back.

"So, what's the plan?" She asked as they made their way through the Hogwarts corridors.

His face fell. "I'm working on it."

"_Working on it_?" Alex asked in disbelief, but then bit her tongue. She needed his help and coming off on him would not do her any good.

He stopped walking and stared at her. "It's more than you've got! Look, I went to the library to check out some books on dragons and got them before I saw you. I'm going to do everything I can to figure this out."

She felt a huge wave of gratitude for her brother at that moment and smiled. "Thank you. I'm going to start seeing what I can do too."

He smiled back at her. "Good. I'm going to start now back in the van. I'll find you when I've got any ideas."

She knew it was getting awfully repetitive, but she said thank you to her brother once more before he went off to spend his time trying to help her.

Now she was alone in the corridor, having no clue what to do about the dragons. But she knew she couldn't leave it all up to Justin. She couldn't believe her luck, though. If Justin hadn't seen the dragons being brought in, and she was left to deal with it the moment _of _that task, she'd be a goner.

She stopped dead in her tracks as this thought hit her. _Harry, _she thought. He didn't know what the first task was.

It was a strange feeling for her to have. Her first instinct was to go find him and to warn him, not to snicker to herself, glad that she had a leg up on the competition. More so, she was worried about his safety. She didn't understand where it was coming from, but she was never one to stop and think.

She walked aimlessly around the corridors, hoping to bump into him. But it wasn't him she found, it was Hermione. She was departing from the library, a pile of books in her hands.

"Hermione!" She shouted, making her way towards the girl.

Hermione jumped, slightly startled and almost dropped her books. "Oh, Alex," She said with a sigh of relief. "I didn't see you. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Well, sort of." Hermione raised her eyebrows, and Alex took this as a sign to continue. "I can't find Harry anywhere and there's something he needs to know about the first task."

She looked concerned now at the panicked expression on Alex's face. "What is it?" She asked, worry coating her words.

"We have to face a dragon." Alex said impulsively. She didn't know Hermione well, and telling her that piece of information could get Alex into a load of trouble, but she didn't care at that moment. Because she could see just by looking at them how close her and Harry were, and when you have a relationship like that with someone, you want them to be safe. She was positive that Hermione would pass the word to him.

This time, she really did drop her books. Her face turned scarlet as she bent down to pick them up. "That - that is absolutely _ridiculous!_" She exclaimed frantically, her eyes wide.

"I know." Alex said as she bent down to help pick up the books, "But there's nothing we can do about it. I just thought he should know."

"Well, thank you, Alex." Hermione said, but it looked like her mind was somewhere else. "I need to get back to the library now! Books on dragons - yes, I know there's some in there.."

She muttered to herself, turning on her heel and back into the library before Alex could even tell her that her brother had already checked those books out.

Alex shrugged. Hermione was a smart girl, she'd figure it out on her own. She also had a good feeling that Hermione would be able to help Harry with the task, relief spreading through her but still not enough to calm her nerves.

And what she saw next didn't do much to help either - Harry being whisked into a professor's office. _Professor Moody's _office.

* * *

><p>Alex spent the rest of her day wondering about Professor Moody. She was started to think that keeping it a secret was a bad idea. Her stomach twisted in a sickly way every time she thought about him and what he had done.<p>

The tournament was clearly not something that Harry wanted to be a part of, so the professor's intentions were obviously _not _good. But why would he want to hurt Harry?

"Come up with any ideas?" Justin asked, waking her from her thoughts. It was finally dinnertime, and people were starting to arrive in the Great Hall. Alex, wanted a place to be alone and think, decided to come earlier.

"No," She sighed. "He's definitely up to no good though, I have a theory but -"

She stopped once she saw Justin's contorted facial expression. "Uh," She cleared her throat awkwardly as she realized what she had said and that Justin had no idea about any of it.

"You're talking about the dragon..right..well," She bit her lip. "No, I haven't." She said, defeated.

He rolled his eyes. "I figured. That's why tonight, after we eat, we're to start training." He grinned as Alex furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. He grinned. "I have a plan."

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><p><strong>Reviews are most welcomed! ;)<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**I know, I know. It's been a while since I updated. I'm sorry! Hopefully this chapter makes up for the wait. Thank you again for the reviews and support :-)**

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><p>Alex's entire mood had dropped, if that were even possible. Her brother was looking at her expectantly, both of them standing near the edge of the forest at nightfall. He had just dropped his plan to her and to say the least, she was not impressed.<p>

"That's it?" Alex asked, arms crossed and an annoyed expression that she wore way too often around him. "You want me to put it to _sleep? _With that huge crowd? It will wake right back up!"

Justin rolled his eyes. "It's a sleeping spell, it works through all the noise. Maybe if you actually paid attention in some of Dad's classes you'd know that."

"How long does it last?" She asked, ignoring his jab.

"Depends," He said, looking thoughtful. "On how you conjure it. The stronger, the better."

She took a deep breath. "Well how do I make it strong?"

"Concentration." He said simply. "Which we both know you have none of."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Enough with your little remarks, okay? I have to put a huge dragon that probably wants to eat me to sleep. Don't you think I'm suffering enough?"

Justin, though, did not look as though she was suffering at all. "Actually, no, I don't. This is _your _fault. Remember what I said before we came? That'd you find some way to mess it up and come running to me? This is that moment, Alex!" He yelled, making Alex wince. She automatically wished she'd kept her mouth shut and taken his insults, because he clearly wasn't over anything that had happened and she knew how her brother could get when his emotions took control.

"Why did you even want to be a part of this? To show me up again? To make a statement? To prove a point? Well what have you gotten, Alex? Please, enlighten me!"

Alex gaped. "I-"

"You know what?" He said, before Alex could even respond. "I don't even care. All I know is that the Goblet somehow picked you, so you should be able to figure this out on your own." He spat, bitterly.

"What? No, Justin, please." Alex said, and the desperation coming from her voice was the most unattractive, strange thing she had ever heard.

He stomped back to the van, ignoring her plea and not taking one look back.

* * *

><p>Alex didn't want to go back to the van. Not yet, at least. She didn't want to see Justin. She knew they were going to go right back to not speaking again after that fight and even though she hated to admit it, she really needed him.<p>

She let her feet take her where they wanted to go, thinking of ways in which she could figure out the sleeping spell on her own. Or ways in which she could get Justin to forgive her. Thinking about that, though, made her feel as though taking on a dragon wasn't so bad.

She continued walking until she reached the only source of light around. She rolled her eyes once she realized where she had ended up.

"Hello there, Alex!" Hagrid said, his beady black eyes squinted together from his smile that was hidden beneath his beard.

She smiled. "Hi, Hagrid. What are you up to?" She asked, genuinely curious as to why he wasn't inside on a chilly, November night.

"Jus' waitin' on Harry." He said, swinging on his heels and looking impatient. "Supposed to be here a few minutes ago."

Alex's stomach did a jolt at the mention of Harry - she ignored it. "Oh," She said. "Ron and Hermione too?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Nah, jus' Harry tonight."

This time she couldn't ignore the creature stirring inside of her.

"There he is!" Hagrid exclaimed happily. "Thought ye got lost!" He chuckled.

Harry gave a small grin as his messy black hair and emerald green eyes came into sight. "Sorry, Hagrid, I was talking to Sirius."

Hagrid's mouth opened in surprise. "But how -"

"I'll explain when we're inside - Oh." Harry had just noticed Alex, who felt intrusive and lost at their conversation. "Hi." He said, and then he smiled. Alex was even more lost now.

"I'll meet yer inside, Harry." Hagrid said, making his way back into his hut.

Harry stared at Alex a moment before speaking. "Listen, I wanted to thank you for that information about the first task. Hermione told me."

Alex should of known. She shrugged. "I just figured you'd need all the help you could get."

He cracked a smile and even laughed a little. "Can't fight you on that one." His voice then fell to a more serious tone. "How are you doing with it, though?"

"Alright." Alex lied. "Don't think I'm going to feel bad enough to give you my plan." She smirked.

"With a friend like Hermione, I don't think that'll be needed." He grinned.

"Speaking of friends," Alex said, a certain ginger popping into her mind. "What's up with Ron?"

Harry's expression darkened. "Rather not talk about that git right now."

Alex raised her eyebrows. "Ouch. That bad?" Harry nodded, but for some reason Alex really didn't want their conversation to end. "I saw him in the Great Hall and he was pretty rude about the entire situation."

"So, he's taking it out on you too then, eh?" He asked begrudgingly. "He thinks I entered without telling him. Ignorant, is what it is. You'd think he'd know me by now. I don't want this, I just want -" He stopped himself and sighed.

"Hagrid's waiting, I better go." He said, avoiding her gaze.

She bit her lip. This was one of the most real conversations she'd ever had with him and she wanted to know more. She wanted him to finish what he was going to say. "Well, wait." She said, "How are you doing? With the task?"

He shrugged. "I'm, er, working on it." He grinned at her. "Don't think I'm going to give you my plan now."

She rolled her eyes playfully and gave a small laugh. "Yeah, yeah, as if I need it."

It was pretty obvious that neither of them had any clue as to how they were going to get past the dragon, but Alex didn't mind; This was the most natural, comfortable conversation she had had with him yet.

"How's your brother?" He asked, taking Alex by surprise. It was as if he knew there was something going on, the way his eyes bored into her.

She shrugged. "He's pretty mad at me still. I thought he had gotten over it, but he kind of went off on me tonight." She frowned, as it all came rushing back to her. "And now I'm alone to figure this task out and-" She stopped once she saw Harry's face twitch from laughter.

"What?" She demanded.

"Nothing," He said, putting his hands up in defense. "It's just, I thought you were doing _'alright'_ with it."

She narrowed her eyes at him, but couldn't help the grin that was forming. "Shut up."

They both laughed, but were interrupted by Hagrid's voice booming through the thin hut walls. "Harry?" He asked, his voice sounding nervous.

Harry gave Alex an apologetic look. "Sorry, I better go."

Alex nodded. She couldn't hold him away any longer. "I'll see you at breakfast." She flashed him a smile.

"Yeah." He nodded, his cheeks looking as if they were turning red - it was hard to tell with only the fire for light, and maybe Alex was just imagining it. But she was beaming on her entire walk back to the van.

* * *

><p>The next morning, she was eagerly looking for Harry, scoping out the Gryffindor table; Something that didn't go unnoticed by Natalie.<p>

She looked at her roommate quizzically. "Looking for someone?" She asked, the hint of a smile playing at her lips.

"What?" Alex asked lamely. "No. I mean, yeah, but only so I can ask that person a question." She mentally slapped herself, what was _with _her excuses lately?

"Ri-ight." Natalie nodded slowly, then motioned towards the far right of the Gryffindor table. "Well, you better ask quickly. Wonder boy is leaving."

Alex turned her head sharply. There was Harry, standing up from a barely-eaten plate of eggs and bacon, looking forewarn and following a very determined Hermione. Alex shot up out of her seat once they got closer and smiled when she caught Harry's eye.

"Hey." She said coolly. "Where are you guys going? Breakfast isn't over."

The two friends communicated silently, sharing a not-so-subtle glance at each other. "Practicing for.. you know." Harry stated.

"Oh, that." Alex nodded, her heart dropping.

She stole a glance towards Justin, and was surprised to see that he was watching. Then thought it was stupid - of course he was watching her, her entire table was. She was talking to Harry Potter.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes as Harry opened his mouth to speak.

"If you'd like, you could come."

Hermione's mouth fell open. "Harry, she's your competition, that would be -" She stopped, looking at Alex sympathetically. "-It's just, you understand. Don't you?"

Alex was momentarily shocked as well. He was asking her to come and practice his own plan with him? She nodded to Hermione. "Yeah, I have plans, anyways." She said, which was actually very far from the truth.

Hermione smiled gratefully. "Well, we'd better get going, Harry. Goodbye, Alex. Good luck!" She said, and Alex could hear bits of their conversation as they walked away, "_sorry - wasn't thinking - impulsive._"

She dropped back down onto her seat at the table, feeling oddly disappointed.

Natalie was staring at her, a gleam in her eyes.

"What now?" Alex demanded, sticking her fork into her home fries.

Natalie bit her lip. "If you need help, Alex, I can do that for you."

Alex turned to her roommate, resisting the urge to give her a dirty look. "Listen, I know things are going just _swell _with Gregori and all, but I don't need you to help me with this."

Natalie's lip started to quiver, her mouth turning upwards into a smile. "That's not what I was talking about, Alex. But please, do elaborate."

"Oh," Alex felt her cheeks flush. "Then what are you talking about?" She asked quickly, trying to change the subject as fast as possible.

Natalie, getting the hint, went back to her point. "Have you forgotten that I _willingly_ put my name into the Goblet? I'm _good_ at strategy." She said, and all the lights in Alex's head started to click on. "If you need help in the tournament, I'm here. Just because I'm not competing doesn't mean I don't want our school to win. Everyone thinks were a joke. I think it's time we changed that."

Alex felt a wave of gratitude towards the older girl. She grinned. "What did you have in mind?"

* * *

><p>November 24th came all too quickly.<p>

Alex was tired and nervous. The time she had been spending with Natalie, going over strategy's and spells, had taken it's toll on her. And though she had stayed up until the early hours of the mornings practicing and completed more spell work than she had in her entire time learning (or more like not paying attention) from her father, she was nervous. She didn't feel like her usual, confident self. And that was the scariest part.

"You'll be fine." Natalie soothed, smiling at Alex as she got herself ready.

The task was merely a few hours away, and _'fine'_ was exactly the opposite of what Alex was feeling.

She managed to smile back, but her heart was racing. "My parents are outside, I should go." She said, and Natalie nodded.

She rolled up the sleeves of her Triwizard robe, sweating even though the temperature was low in the thirties. Walking past packs of whispering WizTech students, she finally got out of the van and was immediately engulfed in a pair of thin arms, though warm, arms.

"Mom, I can't breathe." She muttered against her mother's wool jacket.

Teresa pulled away, eyeing her daughter, searching her face for any trace of emotion. Alex resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead directed her attention towards her dad.

She smiled and went in for a hug. "I'm glad you guys are here." She said, but she wasn't entirely sincere. If she were being honest with herself, she'd rather _not _have her parents in the audience as she walked right into her own death.

But she shook that thought for her head as saw her mother's face, etched with stress and worry. Alex had yet to tell her or her father that the first task was dragons - they were freaking out enough as it was. Thankfully, Justin seemingly hadn't told them either.

"How are you feeling?" Her father asked, her mom still seeming to try and find the right words.

Alex flashed a smile. "Great! I've been practicing strategies and spells for weeks."

"Really?" Her father raised his eyebrows, "I mean - that's great, hunny! I'm sure you're going to do fine today!"

"Have you talked to your brother?" Her mother finally spoke, and Alex's face fell.

The silence was a good enough answer for her mom, and she sighed, long and heavy. "Oh, Alex." She said in a short breath. "I don't know _how _you manage these things! I swear, when this is over and you get back home you are _never _-"

"Teresa!" Her husband shouted, shaking his head. "As much as Alex has done here," He glanced towards Alex, who wore a sheepish grin. "Now's not the time."

She took a deep breath. "You're right."

"Mom! Dad!" Justin exclaimed, rushing out of the van and into sight. He wore a smile that was quickly dropped once he realized Alex's presence.

She slipped away when they started to hug and greet each other. She really wasn't in the mood to deal with Justin's silent treatment, it was a big day and she had a lot more to worry about.

"There you are, Ms. Russo!"

Alex whipped around before she could sneak back into her room. Professor Crumbs approached her, snatching her by the arm and looking annoyed.

"The champions were supposed to meet fifteen minutes ago in the tent, and of course, you have to go and make WizTech look _lazy._"

Alex ignored his jab, instead focusing on the instructions he had just told her. "Wait, the tent? Already? But the task doesn't start for another three hours!"

Crumbs looked like he was holding back a lot of anger and sighed. "Yes, but there are rules to go over. And interviews."

Alex groaned. More interviews? If it's the Skeeter woman again..

They walked the rest of the way to the champion's tent in silence, and Alex smirked triumphantly upon entering. Fleur Delacour wasn't there yet. So she _wasn't _the "laziest" one.

Her eyes scanned around, looking for any sit of Rita Skeeter and that horrid quill. But that terrible woman was no where to be found, and instead Alex's eye rested on a boy with messy black hair. She smiled. Harry.

He was sitting against the table, his face a sickly pale color. He looked so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice her approaching.

"Hi." She said cautiously, and he was jerked out of his daze.

He smiled, though it was strained. "Hi." He merely said, and Alex could tell that he was in no mood for small talk. She hadn't spoken to him at all in the past week, both of them too preoccupied with the looming thought of facing a damn dragon.

But she couldn't just walk away now. "I thought we were supposed to do interviews." She said, glancing around at Krum and now Fleur (who walked into the tent only seconds before), and neither of them were speaking to reporters.

"Dumbledore got rid of them." He explained, looking appreciative. "Reckoned we weren't really up for speaking to them."

Alex found herself really liking Dumbledore. She smiled. "Nice," She said, but her face fell only a moment after. Mr. Crouch walked into the tent, holding in his hands what looked like a small sack you would keep marbles in.

Alex furrowed her eyebrows. "What's he doing here so early?" She asked, her heart beating fast.

Harry shrugged. "Dunno."

And it was then that the sound of people chatting, laughing, and yelling reached her ears. She and Harry shared a panicked look at each other, and she quickly rounded on Professor Crumbs.

"Why's the crowd filing in already?" She asked frantically, and he motioned towards Mr. Crouch with a bored expression.

"Ask _him._"

Mr. Crouch called in all of the champions to stand in a circle. Alex followed suit, her mind racing. She knew exactly what was going on - But she didn't want to admit it to herself until someone else did.

"We're starting a bit earlier than planned." And there it was. Alex gulped, but maybe getting it over with was for the best. Yes. There. She managed to look on the bright side.

None of the champions were looking at each other. There eyes were are downcast, there emotions taking control.

"In here," Mr. Crouch began, sticking out the small sack Alex noticed when he first walked in. "represents what you will facing today."

Alex raised her eyebrows, confused, but as the sack made it's way around the circle and Victor Krum pulled out a mini, fire-breathing dragon, she knew. And her heart sank. That little spark of hope that she had about Justin being wrong fizzled out and she was only left with the dread.

Finally, it was her turn to pick. She pulled out a red and black mini dragon. She stared at it long and hard, and was told that it was the "chinese firebolt."

The word _fire _made her stomach turn.

But not as much as waiting. She sat in the tent as Krum and Fleur went before her. She and Harry did not speak and she was thankful for that. She didn't think she could hold on to a conversation at the moment.

Finally (and all too soon) it was her turn. Dumbledore looked down at her fondly, smiling underneath his bread and his eyes twinkling. "You're a great witch, Ms. Russo." He said, and Alex's heard whirled.

"What?" She asked doubtfully. Surely she had heard him wrong. How could he possibly know anything about her?

But his eyes told her that he knew a lot more than she was giving him credit for. He simply smiled. "Now, be ready. The cannon will go off at any moment now."

Alex nodded dumbly, and Dumbledore walked towards Harry, we had yet to have his turn.

_BOOM!_

Alex thought she was going to have heart failure as the cannon sounded. But she took a deep breath, thought of everything Natalie had taught her and told her in the past week, and convinced herself that she was the epitome of confidence as she walked out in the arena.

The crowd was silent as it watched. She would of rather them be yelling or cheering. Because their silence was only conveying their nerves, and Alex had plenty of those to go around.

The Chinese Firebolt wasn't as big as she expected. Sure, it was in no way _small, _but it didn't reach the size of Alex's imagination. It's eyes, though - they were vicous and cruel as they bored onto Alex.

_Concentrate,_ she thought to herself.

She realized that she must look like an idiot to the entire crowd. Just standing there, doing nothing. Krum and Fleur probably went at their dragons head on. But she still didn't know what she was looking - she stopped mid-thought. There, only inches away from the dragon, was a shining, golden egg.

That's it. That had to be it. She had to get that egg.

The dragon was getting impatient now, and it flapped it's long wings and sent out a loud roar. Alex then noticed that it was attached to chains. It made her feel only slightly better. But she still could barely concentrate with it's eyes gleaming with hatred at her like that.

She knew that the sleeping charm was difficult, Natalie had pointed that out over and over again. But she could do it. She _had _to do it. But the dragon was started to move, getting even more impatient and Alex took a step forward -

Gasps filled the audience as the dragon tried leaping towards Alex, it's teeth bared and it's nostrils flaring. Alex fell backwards, landing hard onto a rock, and losing any of all concentration that she had. She felt dizzy, and as everything came back into view, the dragon's giant face was only a few feet away from hers.

She thought for a moment that it was the end for her. The dragon opened it's mouth, it's large, lizard-like tounge moving inside, and she knew that at any second she would be cooked to a crisp.

She instantly froze as she watched the dragon's tongue. What was that spell she used on Justin to get him to shut up? It would glue his tongue to the top of his mouth..

Alex didn't know if it would work, but it's all she had. With a shaking hand, she pointed her wand at the dragon, and shouted "LANGLOCK!"

She jumped out of the way as only small jets of fire came out of the dragons mouth. The rest, it seemed, had gotten caught on it's tongue - the tongue that stuck to the roof of it's mouth. It was in pain and it was confused, and it's attention was no longer on Alex.

But she didn't have time to think about what she did. It wasn't a powerful spell, especially not against a dragon and she only had a few precious moments before it regained it's power and noticed the tiny human that caused it pain.

So she ran. She bolted right past the dragon, her eyes never leaving that golden egg. The crowds cheers were so loud that they were deafening, almost making the arena sound silent again. She heard a huge roar from the dragon, and knew that it was coming after her. But she was already there, and snatched the golden egg up in her hands and the horn blew and she knew it was over. She did it.

But not before the dragon let out one last spit of fire, catching Alex's entire right side. All she remembered was a searing pain before she hit the ground and thinking, _at least I got the egg._

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><p><strong>Sorry for the cliff-hanger! Haha but I promise I won't make you wait as long this time for the next chapter :) Leave your thoughts, I love hearing them. <strong>


	8. Chapter 8

Alex stirred in bed, but she didn't want to be awake just yet. She felt awfully tired and for some reason her entire body was aching. She rolled over, trying to regain comfort and to fall back asleep.

"I think she's awake!" Someone whispered excitedly, but Alex could still hear them. And they were very distracting.

"Alex, honey?" She heard as a soft hand was placed onto her arm.

She had no choice now. She slowly opened her eyes, the distraught face of her mother coming into full view. "Mom - what?" She said, as she sat up with a jolt and took in her surroundings.

She was in the medical tent. All around her were her family, and Natalie, looking relieved, but still a little bit worried. And Justin was there. He didn't say anything, but he was there. Alex smiled, but only one thing really came to mind.

"I got the egg, right?"

Natalie burst out laughing. All heads suddenly turned to her and she quickly regained her posture and cleared her throat nervously. "Um, yes. Yes you did."

Alex grinned widely. "Thank _God_." She said, relieved. "But what happened? I just remember the dragon coming at me and then... nothing." She frowned.

Her mother didn't seem like she wanted to relive the tale, so Natalie started to explain. "Well.." She didn't look too thrilled to be talking about it either, but she went on. "You kind of went up in flames. God Alex, I was so scared! I thought you -" She took a deep breath. "But you were okay. They rushed out to grab you. I don't think the fire was what made you unconscious."

Alex paused. _Unconscious?_

"The shock of the fire must of caused you to pass out, and you hit your head pretty hard. All while holding onto that stupid egg." At this, Natalie smiled.

"So?" Alex asked once the story was finished. Everyone stared at her, confused. She rolled her eyes. "How'd I do? You know, my points?"

Everyones eyes suddenly went down to the floor. Even Natalie didn't speak this time. Alex's heart dropped as reality sunk in. "I came in last, didn't I?"

Her father, speaking for the first time, laid a hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault, Alex. You did great. But the judges take points off for injuries, and yours being the worst.." He trailed off, but Alex understood just fine.

She took a deep breath. "Guess I'll just have to step it up for the next one." She said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Natalie nodded enthusiastically . "Yeah! And hopefully next time we'll have more time to practice, so you don't end up using a simplelanglock spell on a _dragon_."

Everyone laughed, even Alex. She did have to admit it was a sad excuse of a plan, even if it did potentially save her life at the time.

"Who won?" She asked once the laughter died down. She already knew she came in last, and now her curiosity was getting the better of her.

"Harry Potter." Her father said, and Alex's eyebrows shot up so far they almost reached her hairline. She was surprised, to say the least. Maybe she wasn't giving him enough credit.

Natalie stared at her, seemingly waiting for her reaction, but all Alex did was nod. "Oh, nice. So what time is it, anyways? I'm starving."

Her mother looked at her sympathetically. "It's dinnertime, but they're going to bring you up to the hospital wing for the night, to make sure everything's okay."

Alex sighed, annoyed. "I feel _fine_." She complained. "And there's roasted chicken in the Great Hall just calling my name."

"I'll bring you up some food." Natalie said, her eyes begging Alex to obey. "You should go, Alex, just to be safe."

She groaned. "Alright, whatever. But make sure it's the regular chicken, none of that garlic coated stuff." She grimaced, pulling the blankets off of her.

Her mother smiled in relief and Justin walked past her, patted her back and said, "Glad you're alright."

* * *

><p>Alex was out of the hospital as early as noon the next day. She was thankful for that, for she didn't think she could drink anymore of that disgusting "remedy" medicine that Madam Pomfrey kept giving her.<p>

As she made her way through Hogwarts and back to her school's van, she couldn't help but notice the way people were looking at her. It wasn't the same way they were before. They weren't whispering and sniggering at her as she walked past, instead, they were staring at her with a look of admiration. But she didn't understand why. She came in _last._

"People are just impressed that you made it out alive," Natalie explained once Alex confronted her about this. "I mean, _they _could never even think about taking on a dragon."

Alex sat down on her bottom bunk, throwing off her shoes. "If they're impressed by me, I wonder what it's like for Harry."

Natalie shrugged, unfazed. "He's used to it." She said, but Alex couldn't help but think that Harry was made uncomfortable by the entire thing. She could picture him now, hiding out in his room. "But you should have _seen_ the way he got the egg. It was amazing. He used a summoning charm to get his broom and lured the dragon away from it. He's an incredible flyer. Did you know he's on the Gryffindor Quidditch team? Supposedly he's their star player."

Alex didn't know much about Quidditch, but she has heard about it. She rolled her eyes. "Of course he is." She muttered. For someone who didn't like attention, he sure had a way of getting it.

"Oh!" Natalie exclaimed. "You weren't here this morning when Professor Crumbs talked to us all."

Alex stared. "Obviously not. What'd he want?"

Natalie was beaming. "There's a dance coming up!" Alex was clearly not feeling the excitement that her friend was feeling. "Exactly a month from today. It's on Christmas. The Yule Ball, they call it."

"A _ball_?" Alex asked, spitting it out like it was deadly disease. "I'm guessing you're going with Gregori?" She asked, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

She shrugged, but couldn't keep the smiling from tugging at her lips. "I hope so. I haven't seen him today, but I think he'll ask me, don't you?"

"Of course he's going to ask you. You guys are practically dating at this point."

Natalie blushed. "I - I wouldn't say _dating. _But what about you?" She said hurriedly, trying to change the conversation. "Who do you think you'll go with?"

"No one." She said bluntly. "I think I have a little bit more on my mind than a stupid date." She said, her eyes drifting to the gleaming egg sitting on her night stand.

Natalie sighed. "Come on, the next task isn't for another few months! Have some fun." She smirked. "Do you think Harry will ask you?"

"What?" Alex spluttered, her head turning sharply to her roommate. "No. Why would you even say that?"

Natalie wasn't taken a back by Alex's comment. Instead, she continued to smirk. "I don't know. I thought you liked him."

Alex's mouth fell open. "Where did you get _that _idea?"

She rolled her eyes. "I don't know. It's not that hard to figure out. You guys do kind of talk a lot." She paused. "Well, more than he talks to anyone else, it seems."

"No," Alex shook her head. "That's not true. He talks to Hermione way more."

"Oh - _Oh._" Natalie said, making Alex confused. "So, he's dating her?"

"Hermione?" Alex asked, about to answer 'no' when she stopped herself. She never actually thought about it. All the times she saw Harry with Hermione, she just assumed they were friends. But they _are _always together. Especially since Ron stopped talking to Harry, Alex hasn't seen him without her by his side. Suddenly, her mouth got very dry. "I - I don't know."

Natalie frowned. "He can do better."

Alex almost laughed, but then felt guilt rising in her stomach. She liked Hermione. Even if the girl was bossy and slightly annoying, she liked her. "She's alright." She said.

"I'm not sure if they actually are dating, though." She continued, but immediately regretted it as Natalie gave her an all-knowing smile.

Alex ignored her and stood up, making her way over to the shining egg. All thoughts of Harry and the possibility of him dating Hermione were quickly pushed to the back of her mind as she stared at it. Would this task be even more difficult than the last? She barely made it out of that one alive.

She picked it up, then noticed Natalie staring at her. She sighed. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Here, let me see." Natalie said, walking over to Alex and taking the egg from her hands. "I think it opens. Yeah, right here - AH!" She yelled, dropping the egg onto the floor. Alex didn't need to ask why. A loud, ear-piercing screech was emitting from it.

Both girls looked at each other, panicked. Neither of them wanted to lift their hands from their ears to retrieve the egg. But Alex could still hear the screeching regardless, and not wanting to go unconscious yet again, she lunged for it. She shuffled with it in her hands for a minute before shutting it hurriedly.

Alex gaped, "What the f-"

"_That's_ supposed to be your clue?" Natalie asked, a look of disbelief crossing her face.

"Maybe I have to listen to that noise without going insane for an hour or something." She smirked. "I'd rather have the dragon."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Good thing you have a few months to figure this one out."

* * *

><p>"Have you seen this?" Natalie asked, throwing down an issue of <em>The Daily Prophet <em>in front of Alex. It was only a few days after the egg incident, and all Alex was trying to do was forget about it and relax for a little.

Her eyes drifted away from her meal she was currently eating and onto the article Natalie was pointing at. And though it wasn't about her, her heart sank.

_Harry Potter's secret romance_ was the title and there, right underneath, was a picture of Hermione. For some reason, she couldn't bring herself to read it. She shrugged. "Guess we were right."

Natalie frowned. "It's by Rita Skeeter, though." She explained. "She's not a very reliable source."

Alex rolled her eyes, but she could feel a spark of hope rising inside of her. "Who cares?" She said bitingly, clanking her spoon around her soup bowl.

Natalie said nothing as she took a seat across from Alex. "What's good?" She asked, eyeing the food in front of them.

"Everything." Alex mumbled, her mouth full of hot soup.

Natalie raised her eyebrows at Alex's obvious lack of manners and went to grab a piece of key lime pie.

"Did your parents go home?" She asked, and Alex nodded.

"They left last night, thank God." She sighed. "They were driving me crazy. They kept watching me as if I was going to end up in the hospital again. Yeah, mom, there's another dragon just lurking around the corner waiting for me."

Natalie laughed, taking a bite of her pie.

Alex was about to take the last sip of her soup when she saw Harry walk by with Ron. They seemed to be getting along again, for she's seen them together multiple times since the first task. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened, but she never got the chance to ask. People - particularly girls - flocked around Harry like moths to a flame ever since he came in first place. Apparently they didn't get the news about him and Hermione. Either that, or they didn't care.

"Oh, crap." Natalie said, shoving the last of her desert into her mouth as she stared at the time on her watch. "I was supposed to meet -"

"Gregori?" Alex asked, a bored tone to her voice as she cut off her friend's sentence.

Natalie grinned. "Nice guess." She said, a bit sarcastically as she stood up. "I'm late, though, so I'll talk to you later!" She was already walking away as she finished her farewell, sending a small wave over her shoulder as she exited the Great Hall.

Alex sighed. As cool as Hogwarts was, the novelty was beginning to wear off. Natalie was her only friend. Justin wasn't giving her the cold shoulder anymore. Actually, he was doing quite the opposite. He kept pestering her about how she got her name in the goblet, and from the looks of it, it didn't seem as though he was going to give up anytime soon. It was now Alex's turn to avoid him.

Which is what she was trying to do the moment she saw him enter the Great Hall. She didn't dare make eye contact with him. Instead, she stood up from her seat, kept her head down and made a bee-line for the exit.

But rather than walking swiftly out the door, she smacked hard into another body. Stumbling backwards a bit, she looked up. "Hey, watch where you're - Oh."

She stopped, for Hermione Granger was in front of her, looking nervous. "I'm so sorry!" She said quickly. "I should of been paying attention!"

"It's fine." Alex said. She was finding it harder than usual to speak to Hermione.

She smiled timidly. "I was just looking for Harry and Ron, have you seen them?"

Alex's posture tightened. "You just missed them." She said, her expression dark as she moved to step around the girl.

"Did they go to the grounds?" She asked, following her. "I might as well walk with you. You're going that way, aren't you?"

Alex clenched her teeth. "Yeah, I am."

Hermione seemed a bit distraught at the way Alex was treating her, and hugged her books closer to her chest. "You did great in the tournament, Alex." She said, trying to break the tension.

"I lost." She replied, morosely.

"Yes, but, everyone was really impressed. You were minutes away from death and you used your wits. It was admirable." She beamed, and Alex couldn't help but grin a little bit at the compliment.

"It really reminded me of Harry. He's good like that as well." And just like that, Alex's grin was gone and her mind was made up: They were dating. Why else would she be speaking so highly of him?

"Oh, bugger." She muttered, putting her head down. "Walk fast with me, please." She said, as she began to pick up her pace.

"Er-" Alex began, slowly jogging to keep up with her. "I'm not big on exercise, what's the deal?"

Hermione peered over her shoulder. "_Him._" She said, and Alex followed her gaze. She raised her eyebrows as she saw the boy Hermione was talking about, staring at them.

"Victor Krum?" She asked. "What about him?"

"He's everywhere!" She said, exasperated. "Always in the library, too. Causing mounds of giggling girls to break my concentration." Her tone was bitter, and Alex couldn't help but laugh.

She took another look at Victor before turning to the girl. "He's into you." She said simply.

"W-what?" Hermione stammered, her face turning pink.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Look at him, he's clearly not going to the library to _read._ And look at the way he's staring at you."

Hermione's face was a bright red color now. "Oh, no, he can have anyone! I highly doubt it."

Alex stared at the girl in front of her, her eyebrows raised. She took the moment to really take her in. She wasn't horrible looking, but she was definitely no Fleur Delacour. But yet, she seemed to garner the attention of two of the most famous boys around. She couldn't help but wonder what was so special about her.

Alex shrugged. "But he wants you, clearly. I think you're a magnet for famous boys."

"What?" She asked, looking baffled.

"You know.." Alex said, "Harry and now Krum."

Hermione burst out laughing. "Harry? Are you mad? Don't tell me you actually _believe _what Rita Skeeter wrote?" She asked, looking appalled.

Alex's head whirled. Did this mean.. ? "Well, I mean, you two spend _a lot _of time together." She said, defending herself.

"Yes, we do. But only because he's my best friend." She explained. "He's like a brother to me. I've just very protective of him. He's always getting into trouble." She sighed contently, like it was an inconvenience that she grew to accept.

Alex spirits immediately lifted, and shortly after she found herself enjoying the conversation with Hermione as they continued to walk together, finally slowing down to a comfortable pace. "If that's the case then, _why _are you avoiding Krum?"

"_Because_," She began. "He's very bothersome and distracting. And quite frankly, he's not all that attractive. People are just mesmerized by his fame."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Of course they are. But come on, even you have to admit that there's something cool about a famous Quidditch player liking you."

"You don't know that he likes me." She retorted, but Alex could see the hint of a smile forming on her face.

Alex smirked. "Think what you want, but he was totally giving you the look."

Hermione's face flushed. "Alright, alright. Enough." She said breathlessly.

Alex put her hands up in defense, her smirk still evident. "Hey, I was just stating the facts. Wouldn't be surprised if he asked you to the ball."

"Oh, come off it!" Hermione exclaimed, but she was smiling. "Speaking of which, how many offers have you gotten so far?"

Alex furrowed her eyebrows. "Uh.. none." She said, and saying it out loud made her feel pathetic. She hadn't really thought about it.

"Really?" Hermione asked, sounding extremely surprised. "Suppose they're all trying to build up the courage."

"Thanks for the encouragement, Hermione, but I really don't care about having a date." She said, rather morosely.

"I'm being honest!" Hermione said, "I overheard a few Gryffindor boys in the common room talking about you." She smiled warmly. "You're quite popular with them. They were deciding which one of them would ask you."

Alex couldn't help but enjoy the flattery, but she hid her smile and instead rolled her eyes. "Boys are so stupid." Hermione laughed, and Alex continued. "You said Gryffindor though. Which boys?"

"Oh, you may not know some of them," Alex's heart dropped. "Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, and..." Hermione hesitated, then took a short breath and continued. "Ron."

"Ron?" Alex spluttered, resisting the urge to laugh. "Last time I spoke to Ron I was pretty sure he wanted nothing to do with me."

"Oh, he gets like that." Hermione said darkly. "Often times his temper gets the better of him. I truly think he means well, though."

Alex eyed her suspiciously, and Hermione cleared her throat. "We're here." She said, and Alex realized they were in front of the van. "It was nice being able to talk about this stuff."

Alex smiled. She really did like Hermione. "Well, that's why it's good to have girl friends." Hermione beamed at her.

"Keep me updated on Krum." She winked.

Hermione sighed, but she was still smiling.

* * *

><p><strong>I know that this chapter wasn't exactly exciting, but I really wanted to establish a Hermione-Alex friendship. Let me know what you think about it :) And also, I'd like to know if there's anything specific any of you would like to see in this fanfiction. I have the main idea laid out and I know how it's going to end, but new ideas never hurt! Thanks for reading! :)<strong>

**- Steph**


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